[Rhodes22-list] Global warming - do-do occurs

[Robert Skinner]

John Lock wrote:
> I haven't participated in the global warming discussions because I
> don't have much to offer.  My belief is the global warming IS
> happening, but we aren't smart enough to understand the causes.

John, I think you have some excellent points, 
not the least of which is the excessive pride 
of some who believe that we can know everything.  
It is also true that we know some things, and we 
do know that CO2 does have some effect.  But CO2 
may not be the only or even the main cause.

> Nor do we accept the fact that sometimes it just happens, regardless of
> what humans do. 

I suspect that sailors can accept that "do-do 
occurs" pretty easily.  It's the academics 
whose careers depend on being "right."  The
rest of us have to figure out how to live well,
or at least survive.

> And finally, I do not believe that humans have the
> capability to "fix" it.  We don't even know if it's broken!  All we
> know is that it threatens our way of life. 

I think "threatens" is a massive understatement.  
If we accept that global warming is happening, 
regardless of cause, then the sea will rise, 
famine will strike some areas, disease will run 
rampant as major population displacement occurs,
and a lot of the poor, uneducated, misled, 
and/or stupid will be looking for someone to blame.  

We can kiss a lot of high-priced and/or 
productive real estate goodby, and figure that 
war and starvation are going to be at least 
constant and probably rising for the next 100 
years.

> Maybe that's natural selection at work... I dunno.

"It has yet to be proven that intelligence has 
any survival value." Arthur C. Clarke

Perhaps cockroaches will inherit the world.  They 
can live in an environment of toxic waste.

-- 
Robert Skinner  "Squirrel Haven" 
Gorham, Maine         04038-1331
s/v "Little Dipper" & "Edith P."